SOLARTE’S HUGE GAME LEADS PADS PAST ROX

5 Hits, 3 2Bs, 2 HRs

SAN DIEGO, Aug. 12 (AP) – Yangervis Solarte banged out five hits, including two home runs, and the San Diego Padres outlasted the Colorado Rockies 8-6 at Petco Park. Solarte, acquired by the Padres from the New York Yankees shortly after the All-Star break in exchange for Chase Headley, has been on fire ever since and entered the contest with the Rockies hitting .409 in 18 games with San Diego. But Tuesday’s contest was a tour de force. All five of Solarte’s hits went for extra bases—two home runs and three doubles. He also scored four runs and drove in three. The 14 total bases amassed by Solarte set a new major league season high; the previous mark was 12, held by six different players. The three doubles represent a new club single-game high for the year, and Solarte became only the second Padre to hit multiple home runs in a single game, joining Rene Rivera, who accomplished the feat on May 30 in a win over the Chicago White Sox. Solarte is the 17^th big league player this season to accumulate five hits in a nine-inning game and is the only player in the major leagues to date this season to amass five extra base hits in a single game.

The Padres drew first blood, scoring twice in the bottom of the first inning. Solarte opened with a double off Rockies starter Yohan Flande and scored when Tommy Medica followed with his own two-bagger. Jedd Gyorko singled Medica to third and Yonder Alonso’s sacrifice fly to left made it 2-0.

Chris Dickerson’s lead-off homer in the top of the second drew Colorado to within 2-1, but the Padres got the run back in the top of the third when Solarte doubled again and was singled home by Medica.

San Diego extended the lead to 4-1 in the bottom of the fifth on Solarte’s one-out home run.

But the Rockies didn’t quit. Nolan Arenado singled off Padres starter Omar Despaigne with one out in the top of the sixth and Dickerson’s second homer of the game cut the deficit to a single run.

Undaunted, the Padres seemed to put the game effectively away with a three-run bottom of the sixth. Yasmani Grandal drew a lead-off walk from Rockies reliever Juan Nicasio and a free pass issued to Abraham Almonte put runners on first and second. Alexi Amarista followed by bouncing into a fielder’s choice, forcing Almonte at second and leaving runners on first and third with one out. Will Venable pinch hit for Despaigne and lined a base hit to left, scoring Grandal to make it 5-3 and putting runners on first and second. Solarte then lined his second double of the game over the head of Charlie Blackmon in center field, scoring Grandal and advancing Venable to third. A walk to Seth Smith loaded the bases and Gyorko lifted a sacrifice fly to right, plating Veanble and giving the Padres a commanding 7-3 lead.

Again the Rockies came back. Facing right-hander Dale Thayer, D.J. LeMahieu grounded a single to center and Thayer then hit Drew Stubbs with a pinch. Blackmon was next and he crushed a 3-1 fastball into the seats in right-center field for a three-run homer, pulling the Rockies back to within a run.

But that was as close as Colorado would get. Thayer retired the next three batters in order and Kevin Quackenbush and Joaquin Benoit each pitched a perfect inning. The Padres, meanwhile, picked up an insurance run in the eighth when Solarte capped off his brilliant game with his second home run of the contest, a drive into the bullpen in right-center, off Rockies reliever LaTroy Hawkins.

The five home runs the two teams combined to hit matched the high this year for a game held at Petco Park. The Padres and Giants also combined to hit five long balls in a 6-5 San Diego victory on April 18.

8/12/2014, Col14-SD14, PETCO Park

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP

2014 Rockies 0 1 0 0 0 2 3 0 0 6 9 1 4 0

2014 Padres 2 0 1 0 1 3 0 1 x 8 11 0 7 0

Rockies AB R H BI AVG Padres AB R H BI AVG

Blackmon cf 5 1 3 3 .266 Solarte 3b 5 4 5 3 .292

Rutledge ss 4 0 0 0 .243 Medica lf 3 1 2 2 .232

Morneau 1b 4 0 1 0 .306 Smith,S ph 0 0 0 0 .257

Arenado 3b 4 1 1 0 .271 Thayer p 0 0 0 0 .000

Dickerson,Co lf 4 2 2 3 .343 Quackenbush p 0 0 0 0 .000

Rosario c 4 0 1 0 .248 Goebbert ph 1 0 0 0 .208

Barnes,B rf 3 0 0 0 .268 Benoit p 0 0 0 0 .000

Kahnle p 0 0 0 0 .333 Gyorko 2b 4 0 2 1 .205

Paulsen ph 1 0 0 0 .345 Alonso 1b 3 0 1 1 .230

Hawkins p 0 0 0 0 .000 Liriano,R rf 3 0 0 0 .000

LeMahieu 2b 4 1 1 0 .232 Grandal c 3 1 0 0 .182

Flande p 2 0 0 0 .154 Almonte,A cf 3 0 0 0 .151

Nicasio p 0 0 0 0 .148 Amarista ss 4 1 0 0 .175

Stubbs cf 1 1 0 0 .254 Despaigne p 2 0 0 0 .071

36 6 9 6 Venable ph 2 1 1 1 .236

33 8 11 8

Rockies INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA

Flande L 1-4 4.2 8 4 4 0 2 91 60 4.31

Nicasio 0.2 2 3 3 3 1 31 11 4.62

Kahnle 1.2 0 0 0 1 2 24 14 3.73

Hawkins 1.0 1 1 1 0 0 12 7 1.94

8.0 11 8 8 4 5 158 92

Padres INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA

Despaigne W 4-3 6.0 7 3 3 0 6 78 55 3.27

Thayer H 10 1.0 2 3 3 0 1 24 14 3.42

Quackenbush H 9 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 15 10 2.18

Benoit S 9 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 12 8 0.92

9.0 9 6 6 0 10 129 87

Col: Blackmon moved to rf in the 6th

Stubbs inserted at cf in the 6th

Paulsen batted for Kahnle in the 8th

SD : Venable batted for Despaigne in the 6th

Smith,S batted for Medica in the 6th

Venable moved to lf in the 7th

Goebbert batted for Quackenbush in the 8th

E-Rosario. 2B-Solarte 3(15), Medica(13), Alonso(15). HR-Blackmon(14),

Dickerson,Co 2(12), Solarte 2(8). RBI-Blackmon 3(41), Dickerson,Co 3(46),

Solarte 3(31), Medica 2(15), Gyorko(24), Alonso(23), Venable(27).

SB-Blackmon(20), Liriano,R(1). K-Blackmon, Rutledge 3, Morneau, Dickerson,Co,

Barnes,B 2, LeMahieu, Paulsen, Liriano,R 2, Grandal, Almonte,A, Amarista.

BB-Liriano,R, Grandal, Almonte,A, Smith,S. SF-Gyorko, Alonso. HBP-Stubbs.

HB-Thayer.

GWRBI: Medica

Temperature: 80, Sky: clear, Wind: left to right at 8 MPH.

Attendance: 34,656

Game Time: 2:52